life

[jumpergirl 0]

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by the way that was harsh especially

Agreed, that was rather harsh from Skin and a Greenie (a moderator) may deal with him.

It might have been harsh, but I think it might have also been a good kick in the butt that he might need. It appears that is not the case, but nonetheless...

I certainly wish like hell that I'd have stayed in school and had done whatever needed to get it done. I've been in and out of college for the last 11 years and have nothing but student loans to show for it. I would have loved to have someone kick my in my butt and tell me I was a dickhead for thinking I could make some of the choices I have regarding school (and other life things for that matter). Of course, I probably wouldn't have listened to them either.

So, having said that, blackfox, KEEP YOUR ASS IN SCHOOL AND GET IT DONE. You will regret it later after having spent so much time (and money) to get this far and quit. Just think, a degree = more money = more jumps.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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wow thats a lot of typical "stay in school" replys
come on doesn't anyone want something more than a nine to five

If you get a good job you'll want to work more than eight hours a day. At my last company I worked five days a week. Took 5-6 hours off each day to sleep, half an hour for lunch (except when I took two hours off to fly), and an hour for dinner and beer. It was more fun than skydiving.

Longer vacations during those two years included summer snowboarding in South America and a Mexican big wall BASE trip with a chartered helicopter. While I could care less about having a big house and new cars, earning more than you need just to live opens up a lot of recreational opportunities.

[karenmeal 0]

OK. I believe that I am highly qualified to give advice in this area.

I started skydiving in highschool.. went to college for half of a semester and dropped out to be a professional skydiver. I headed west, got a job as a packer.. lived in a tent.. made lots of skydives (600+ the year that I lived in a tent) traveled around Australia.. went to boogies. It was cool.

I got to learn lots about the sport, and what it is actually like to be a professional skydiver. (Even though I was just a packer.) One thing that I learned is that it is very difficult and draining to make a living in the sport. Having to depend on the weather for your finances is particularly tough.. unless you want to live in Arizona. I wasn't willing to live in the desert.

So after 2 and a half years of being a skydiving bum I decided to go back to school. From being around such a diverse group of people I had a much better idea of what I wanted to do for a living. I learned that things like 6 figure incomes and big houses aren't everything. But I also learned that I wanted to be comfortable financially and not have to stress about money for the rest of my life. I also got to befriend people in many different fields from engineering, to medicine, to bartenders and chefs. I got an idea of which people were suited for what fields, what people seemed stressed by their jobs, who had high job satisfaction, stuff like that.

Now I am back in school going for a degree that I am CRAZY about. Seriously, I am very passionate about the field that I am studying. It kicks ass. Because of this, I'm getting almost straight A's. No way could I have done that if I didn't like what I was studying. Before too long, I'll be able to graduate with a decent paying job, have weekends off to skydive and a fairly flexible work schedule for boogies and vacations. Sounds pretty good to me.

I know almost everyone on this thread is telling you to stay in school.. but why? Why stay in school and get a degree that you don't want to go out and use? What is the point in setting yourself up for a life of monotony in a field that doesn't interest you?

I'm an idealist too. I see no point in going to school so you can get a job that you don't like just to pay the bills. Fuck that shit. If you're going to invest the time and money into getting a degree, only do it for something that you like and could see yourself doing for a long time.

So I say do what you want to do, finish school, drop out, whatever. If you are willing to work hard, packing can pay the bills and you'll be able to skydive atleast twice a day--- the first load, and the last load. And if you have breaks, you can skydive on those. It would be a good place to start out.. then once you have some jumps you can get some ratings and try your hand at being a tandem master or something.

You can always go back to school. But you can't recover wasted time and money from a degree that you dislike and don't plan on utilizing.

Hope this helped a bit.

-Karen

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

[Hawkins121 0]

I think the best thing to do is

1. Drop out
2. Get addicted to Meth
3. Alienate your family and friends at your intervention
4. Start giving BJ's to support your meth habit
5. Get your "A" License.

[Laurel 0]

Everyone wants to drop out of college at some point. I sure did. But, I stuck with it and then went on to get a grad degree. It sucks, but it will help you later on. Plus, no one likes to work. 99.9999% of the people would quit their jobs if they won the lottery so they could play for the rest of their lives. But most of us can't afford not to work. Skydiving is expensive, so you need a good job. It also helps to have some health insurance, too. You never know if or when you may really need it.

Suck it up, Sporto. Finish school. Get a good job and skydive your ass off.

.....................................................................
PMS#28, Pelogrande Rodriguez#1074
My Pink M

[blackfox 0]

yeah i think karen understands my situation preaty well, thanks that is usefull advice,

i obviously would like a degree but at this point in my life its not the most important thing, we'll see what happens

thanks everyone for the thoughts

[n_pertuset 0]

hey blackfox.. i somewhat see what you're saying. I am a college student also (freshman). There aren’t very many things at all I could see myself doing for the next 20 years. Actually.. I can’t think of any. I'm studying computer science right now, but as I said, I cannot think of a job I could do for the rest of my life. As much as I would love to drop out and skydive/BASE all the time(trust me, this would be NICE), I have had a minimum wage paying job, and it sucks. I realize that I cannot support myself and do the traveling/jumping I want off of $5/hr. That's why I'm still here, and why I’ll stay. College graduates usually make much more than a person without a degree (not in all situations, but probably most).

I’m not going to say: “Stay in school .. blah blah blah.” There have been a lot of points brought up in this thread. Many say: “Stay in school, It will benefit you in the long run.” I agree with this statement, but I also somewhat agree with karenmeal saying: “if you don’t know what you want to do, take some time to figure it out.” I guess what I’m saying is you need to make the choice that will best benefit you. My personal choice is to stay in college and graduate with a degree, that way I am in a much better position to do what I want. No matter what though, I think in most cases it would benefit you more with a college degree.

Nathan

[karenmeal 0]

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I think the best thing to do is

1. Drop out
2. Get addicted to Meth
3. Alienate your family and friends at your intervention
4. Start giving BJ's to support your meth habit
5. Get your "A" License.

You voted for Bush, didn't you?

Silly Republicans.

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

[Icon134 0]

I'm currently going to school for a living... no really I am...

I don't make a ton of money and I definitely don't "work" for the money... make an effort to do things that I enjoy... and ultimately I hope that I can continue to get paid to do these things.

Personally I had trouble getting work because I don't fake well... If something excites me... I'm honestly excited... if on the other hand... I find something boring... I can't for the life of me fake excitement.

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

[Hawkins121 0]

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I think the best thing to do is

1. Drop out
2. Get addicted to Meth
3. Alienate your family and friends at your intervention
4. Start giving BJ's to support your meth habit
5. Get your "A" License.

You voted for Bush, didn't you?

Silly Republicans.

omg how did you know?

[Amazon 7]

Engineer

Dude.. skydiving is NOT cheap..

[NWFlyer 2]

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PS I'm a high-school principle if it makes any difference to your decision to base jump.

Kind regards,

Do you really call yourself a principle? Huh. Here I always thought it was principal. No wonder kids are disillusioned with education.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[Freshman 0]

Purpose will blind you.

[Laurel 0]

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PS I'm a high-school principle if it makes any difference to your decision to base jump.

Kind regards,

Do you really call yourself a principle? Huh. Here I always thought it was principal. No wonder kids are disillusioned with education.

Dudette, you pointing that misspelling out is funny like a clown. I am going to home school my future kids due to that misspelling.

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PMS#28, Pelogrande Rodriguez#1074
My Pink M

[Hawkins121 0]

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PS I'm a high-school principle if it makes any difference to your decision to base jump.

Kind regards,

Do you really call yourself a principle? Huh. Here I always thought it was principal. No wonder kids are disillusioned with education.

People that correct other peoples spelling especially on a forum where everything is ad-hoc are more annoying than I am.

[Hawkins121 0]

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Engineer

Dude.. skydiving is NOT cheap..

Engineer? Are you refering to what I do for a living or is that what the OP is studying to become?

[jdog 0]

Hey man, I know exactly where you are at. I was in the same place when I was your age. I went ahead and quit school and became a skydiving bum. It took 6 months for me to realize that I wanted a lot more out of life, and I went back to college with a new found motivation. If I would not have followed my dream, I would not have found the motivation that I needed to finish school. You are only young once. Now is the time to do what ever stupid shit you can think of.

I remember being 21. Old people used to tell me shit all the time, and I never listened. When you are 21 you are invincible. You have to learn your lessons on your own. Follow your dreams. My only other word of advice is to stay away from drugs and alcohol. They are a waste of life, and will only hinder you.

From a 30 year old.

[Laurel 0]

In addition to my previous post, if you are a super hottie then become a trophy wife/husband (depending on your gender). That'll take care of shit.

.....................................................................
PMS#28, Pelogrande Rodriguez#1074
My Pink M

[LargeBoy 0]

sell drugs !!!!

[skymama 35]

Another thing to consider it that most people who have a degree end up with a salaried position. Most people who don't have a degree end up with an hourly wage position. It's nice to be on salary. There are ways to take time off during the day and do personal errands, go to the doctor or even post on dz.com. When you're paid by the hour, if you're not there, you don't get paid.

You don't have to get a desk job when you get out of school and be a tool to the workforce, but it's always nice to have that option should you grow up, meet a woman who wants to live in a house and start a family. Look at the big picture.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[karenmeal 0]

But why get a degree in something that you don't enjoy, for a job that you don't really want?

That is the bigger picture. Setting yourself up for a job that you dislike so that you can provide for some woman who "needs" a house and other material things. Everyone says that the sky will always be there... well guess what.. so will college. But your early twenties won't be. Whether or not you have a salaried position you'll probably still feel yourself getting tied-down in your mid to late twenties. What a perfect time to go back to school!

If I hadn't taken time off to have fun and live my life, instead of postponing enjoying my life until after college, I would never be doing so well in school. Why postpone enjoying your life? Start enjoying it now. You should enjoy college. I freaking love my classes! Sure the work is hard some times, but it doesn't matter, because I actually really like learning about speech and language!

I don't understand why some people consider going to college the only choice. What is right for one person is not right for everyone, no one can tell you that you're wrong if you don't go to school.

You can get a good job that you may enjoy other ways, maybe you want to be an electrician, do finish carpentry... you don't need to go to school to do those. I've got some friends who have got cush jobs working at Microsoft and they didn't need degrees to get there.

Just think about your options. There is a lot more that you can do with life than just follow the rules.

-Karen

Here is one option. Stay in school and take a NOLS course. Go backpacking for three months in some place like Chile and get college credit for it.. then you can drop out.

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

[skybytch 259]

Karen, you make some good points, but (you knew there had to be a but! ) I'd still suggest that someone in blackfox's position stick it out and get a degree.

Having a college degree gives people options that those of us who didn't bother to get one don't have. Having a degree means that after you decide that you're done being a skydiving bum you can get a job that will allow you to continue to jump without worrying about how you're going to pay your utility bills.

Even if a person never gets a job in the field they studied, it's still valuable. A college degree shows potential employers, potential life partners and most importantly yourself that you can finish what you've started, that you can stick to it even when things get tough.

I've talked to a lot of people who dropped out of school and now wish they could go back. But they can't - life happened and now they have responsibilities that have limited their options. Had they stuck it out, those responsibilities probably wouldn't be so heavy to carry.

Getting a degree in something that you've decided you don't like isn't the worst thing that could happen. There's no law that says a person has to spend the rest of their life working in one field. I know several people with bachelors degrees who are seriously considering going back to school to study something different. They have an advantage over those who dropped out - they can focus on the field they are interested in because they finished the general ed stuff the first time. They also have the advantage of having made a decent living so going back to school won't be the financial strain that it is for those of us who didn't do it "the right way" the first time we had the chance.

[popsjumper 2]

Karenmeal...I really like your advice...

Get a degree YES! But get one in a field that you know you will enjoy.

How many 21 year olds even have an idea of what they would enjoy working at for any significant stretch of time?
I would venture to say few...

(OK you...back there in the corner waving and shouting "I did, I did!"...you can put your hand down now.)

When I went to college I went for the big $$$ degree and it didn't take long to figure out that big bucks doesn't equate to happiness...the degree went mostly unused later in life because enjoying life became much more desirable than enjoying the big bucks..

The OP seems to be looking for validation of his decision to delay the schooling...and in some/many cases, that's not a bad idea.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[rpersi 0]

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Stay in school, go to grad school, and get as highly paid a job as you can stomache. Use all the cash you make from that to jump, and you'll be way beyond where you'd end up by dropping out of school.

Besides, if you take up BASE later in life and are successful, you'll need that cash to pay for all the broken bones. No joke.

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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Besides, if you take up BASE later in life and are successful, you'll need that cash to pay for all the broken bones. No joke.

For those who push the limits with certain types of BASE jumps, they may need to budget extra money towards replacing a rig which was either confuscated by the man after they got busted, or that they needed to leave behind on that cliff after they got hung up and were emergency evacs on. It can happen, it has happened ... and then all of a sudden BASE doesn't become that cheap sport some people assume that it is.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over